THE STATE OF OHIO, APPELLEE, v. BRADLEY, APPELLANT.
No. 00-1728
Supreme Court of Ohio
Submitted January 30, 2001—Decided June 6, 2001.
91 Ohio St.3d 570 | 2001-Ohio-116
[This decision has been published in Ohio Official Reports at 91 Ohio St.3d 570.] APPEAL from the Court of Appeals for Scioto County, No. 1583.
Per Curiam.
{¶ 1} Appellant, William J. Bradley, challenges the denial of his application to reopen his direct appeal under
{¶ 2} Bradley was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to death. The Court of Appeals for Scioto County affirmed his conviction and sentence. State v. Bradley (Sept. 22, 1987), Scioto App. No. 1583, unreported, 1987 WL 17303. We affirmed the court of appeals’ judgment. State v. Bradley (1989), 42 Ohio St.3d 136, 538 N.E.2d 373. The Supreme Court of the United States denied certiorari. Bradley v. Ohio (1990), 497 U.S. 1011, 110 S.Ct. 3258, 111 L.Ed.2d 768.
{¶ 3} On February 1, 2000, Bradley filed an
{¶ 4}
{¶ 5} Strickland v. Washington (1984), 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674, sets forth the standard for judging ineffective-assistance claims: “When a convicted defendant complains of the ineffectiveness of counsel’s assistance, the defendant must show that counsel’s representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness.” Id. at 687-688, 104 S.Ct. at 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d at 693. Furthermore, “[t]he defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. at 2068, 80 L.Ed.2d at 698. See, also, State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136, 538 N.E.2d 373, paragraphs two and three of the syllabus.
{¶ 6} Strickland charges us to “[apply] a heavy measure of deference to counsel’s judgments,” 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. at 2066, 80 L.Ed.2d at 695, and to “indulge a strong presumption that counsel’s conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.” Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065, 80 L.Ed.2d at 694. Moreover, we must bear in mind that appellate counsel need not raise every possible issue in order to render constitutionally effective assistance. See Jones v. Barnes (1983), 463 U.S. 745, 103 S.Ct. 3308, 77 L.Ed.2d 987.
{¶ 7} The two-part Strickland test “is the appropriate standard to assess a defense request for reopening under
Judgment affirmed.
MOYER, C.J., DOUGLAS, RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY, PFEIFER, COOK and LUNDBERG STRATTON, JJ., concur.
David H. Bodiker, Ohio Public Defender, and Angela Miller, Assistant State Public Defender, for appellant.